{"id":74080,"date":"2025-11-19T10:55:20","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T05:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=74080"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T06:06:07","slug":"upcoming-reforms-to-indias-plant-variety-act-key-issues-farmer-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/upcoming-reforms-to-indias-plant-variety-act-key-issues-farmer-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Upcoming Reforms to India\u2019s Plant Variety Act: Key Issues &#038; Farmer Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Plant Variety Act Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced that the Centre plans to amend the <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/protection-of-plant-varieties-and-farmers-rights-authority\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers\u2019 Rights Act (PPV&amp;FRA)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The PPV&amp;FRA, 2001 is India\u2019s plant variety protection law that creates an <\/span><b>IPR framework<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for new plant varieties while also safeguarding farmers\u2019 traditional rights.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It grants breeders and researchers exclusive rights over newly developed varieties, but ensures farmers can save, use, exchange, sell, and even register their own seeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Act was designed to balance breeder innovation with the long-standing contributions of farmers to conserving and developing plant genetic resources.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He emphasised the need to balance the promotion of high-yielding, improved crop varieties with the preservation of traditional seeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Consultations on Amending the Plant Variety Act Begin<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A committee led by agricultural scientist R.S. Paroda, set up by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers\u2019 Rights Authority (PPVFRA), has begun extensive stakeholder consultations on proposed amendments to the PPV&amp;FRA Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee will study the rationale for revising the law and engage widely with farmers\u2019 groups, civil society, industry, and researchers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The panel, comprising scientists and policymakers, will review the Act in the context of current challenges, technological advances, trade changes, and evolving farmer needs.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its mandate includes identifying issues faced by stakeholders and proposing specific amendments to the PPV&amp;FRA Act, 2001, which has now completed two decades.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Key Issues Being Debated in the PPV&amp;FRA Amendment Consultations<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Early discussions indicate several major themes. Stakeholders are considering <\/span><b>revising the definition of \u201cvariety\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to include a <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">combination of genotypes<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, aligning it with the draft Seeds Bill 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also a proposal to broaden the <\/span><b>definition of \u201cseed\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to cover seedlings, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, tissue-culture plantlets, synthetic seeds, and other vegetatively propagated materials.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Consultations also focus on clarifying the <\/span><b>definition of \u201cinstitution\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the term \u201cbreeder\u201d to explicitly include both public and private seed-sector entities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The committee is seeking stakeholder feedback on reforms to the <\/span><b>DUS <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability)<\/span><b> test<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, particularly the inclusion of traits in DUS guidelines.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DUS testing is a technical process used to evaluate new plant varieties and is the basis for obtaining Plant Variety Protection (PVP).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The test determines if a new variety is Distinct from all known varieties, Uniform in its traits, and Stable over subsequent generations.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another key issue is the proposal to define <\/span><b>\u201cabusive acts\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, making activities such as producing, selling, marketing, exporting, or importing any variety with an identical or misleading denomination <\/span><b>punishable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Farmer Groups Demand Protection for Community Seeds<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Farmer representatives stressed that all <\/span><b>community-developed seeds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> must be registered collectively rather than under an individual or company\u2019s name.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They argue that seeds passing the <\/span><b>DUS test<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should not be privately registered, to prevent monopolisation and future exploitation by seed companies.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concerns were also raised about alleged misuse of DUS testing, citing the example of <\/span><b>njavara paddy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where farmers suspect improper procedures before registration.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Concerns About IPR and Exclusion of Small Farmers<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Policy analysts highlighted that small farmers remain outside the techno-legal system and view seeds as shared biocultural resources, conflicting with exclusive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) frameworks.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They noted growing global efforts to keep local varieties in open-source systems to avoid private ownership, warning against pressure on developing nations to align domestic laws with UPOV-style regimes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Gaps in Accountability and Farmer Compensation<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Experts pointed out that the PPV&amp;FRA Act includes provisions for holding breeders accountable for <\/span><b>non-performing seeds<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, the Rules still lack clear criteria for farmer compensation. This creates uncertainty and weakens farmer protections.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Global Negotiations and Broader Seed-Sovereignty Issues<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stakeholders also emphasised the relevance of upcoming <\/span><b>plant treaty negotiations in Peru<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, particularly discussions on expanding the <\/span><b>Multilateral System (MLS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for access and benefit-sharing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Linked concerns include <\/span><b>in situ conservation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, equitable benefit sharing with local seed custodians, and safeguarding farmer rights in global seed-governance frameworks.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/agriculture\/what-changes-are-planned-for-the-plant-variety-act-explained\/article70296155.ece#:~:text=Though%20officials%20maintain%20that%20consultations,draft%20Seeds%20Bill%20of%202019.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/food\/indian-farmers-experts-urge-government-to-reject-expansion-of-global-plant-treaty\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">DTE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India plans major amendments to the Plant Variety Act. Key debates include seed definitions, breeder rights, farmer protections, DUS testing, community seeds and IPR concerns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":74102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,3770,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-74080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-plant-variety-act","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}